I can't speak for programmers as I'm more on the sysadmin side of things but joined initially when I came across some really interesting articles on virtualization from their magazine. Then I started to get the magazine regularly and it was a horrible, horrible read. It's not designed for effective data transmission. It just felt like a way to allow fellow-nerds to get published. I'm able to gain more information from an issue of Wired than I was from an ACM mag. But that could just be me and my background. Their digital library, however, is a little easier to digest since you're only looking for specific things and was nice to have when writing academic papers. But again, if you're casually browsing - it's awful.

I can't tell if this is a serious article or not. Practice really is the hardest part of learning to type quickly. I don't think I've seen a kid with a cellphone who couldn't type furiously at it because it's all they've known and they all pretty much have a mobile device these days. Is there really such a demand for such a thing? I really don't see it. What I think the limitation is now is more of an interface problem than a user problem. Consider a good implementation of a swype-like interface versus a touch interface - I can type substantially faster on the swype-like interface after about 2 weeks of practice.

Strangely, the classes I remember the most were in those trailers. Those teachers seemed to have a lot more autonomy and utilized it. "The whole class is looking tired - let's go for a walk around the trailers to get some fresh air while I continue the discussion." It's also plausible that it's entirely psychological in that I only remember them more because it was that different of an environment. I do seem to recall, however, the teachers who had those wanted to be out there and made the most of it.

As for the air quality - I know this isnt practical for all climates but we often simply...left the doors open and enjoyed the weather. I wonder if doing that periodically solves this whole "toxic air" problem.

"Keep this up for a few days and we may finally get the PHBs attention."...we already got their attention. Why is everyone still beating the dead horse after our concerned have been acknowledged. I'm fairly certain the point has been made - and clearly. Now it's the people doing all the "fuckbeta" nonsense continuously that's pushing me away from this site - not beta itself.

"Grimm says, 'I love code. I dream of code. I enjoy code. I find writing high quality code deeply satisfying. I feel the same way about helping others write code they can feel proud of."

How is that not passionate?

Anywho, I feel like everyone who is bashing on the desire for passion has just become so jaded in a Dilbert-world that it's just ripped that passion out of them.

Here's my stance though - I'm a huge fan of the passion criteria. It's not the only thing we're looking for but it's a major component. Why? Because we can always train technical skills. Personalities we can't really tweak too much. We need tinkerers, people who like solving problems, who can be geeks like the rest of us. This focus has created a really awesome culture here where innovation is more than some corporate buzzword for more money. We actually just want to make cool shit because we think it's cool. We're all compensated just fine for our efforts. What's awesome is being able to say "what if we..." and being able to find someone who can get as excited to work on this as you are. Now, this is a quality we all look for within our teams so it's not JUST some management demand - and maybe this is what the difference is?

Marketing is where they failed horribly with the Wii U. I wasn't even entirely clear on if the Wii U was a brand new system or some new add-on up until recently. The idea of *why* anyone needs this in their home is being entirely ignored it seems. I love the Nintendo brand and I'd hate to see them go the way of Sega. However....that time seems to be quickly approaching.